Police stand by a distraught Kristi Croskey at the scene where a Tacoma Police officer was shot while responding to a domestic call in East Tacoma, Wash., Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2016. Croskey was in the house with the shooter and fled. KCPQ-TV reports an officer was taken to a Tacoma hospital Wednesday after the incident at about 5:30 p.m. (Peter Haley/The News Tribune via AP)

Peter Haley

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TACOMA, Wash. (AP) - A police officer who was shot multiple times in Tacoma while responding to a domestic violence call died Wednesday night, while police worked to arrest a suspect they believed was still barricaded in the home with a gun, authorities said.

Tacoma Police spokeswoman Loretta Cool said the officer was pronounced dead at the hospital Wednesday evening.

"We've suffered a great loss and I think the community has suffered a great loss. I don't know how to put that into words," Cool said.

She said the officer's body would be moved from the hospital to the county medical examiner's office Wednesday night led by a procession of officers. The officer has not been identified.

Cool said police responded to the home Wednesday afternoon in the 400 block of East 52nd Street and that shortly after arriving, officers called for backup.

Reacting to shots fire, arriving officers entered the home and managed to get the wounded officer outside and to a hospital, Cool said. She had said the officer had been undergoing surgery before the death was announced.

It wasn't immediately clear what led up to the shooting.

Cool said police believe the suspect remained in the home Wednesday night. She said the neighborhood was locked down while officers from multiple agencies were "working to bring it to a peaceful resolution."

She also said it's possible the suspect, who hasn't been identified, could have left while police were removing the wounded officer from the scene. She said that's why the large neighborhood perimeter had been set up.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.